An extension of Birkhoff’s theorem with an application to determinants

Let M_n(F) denote the algebra of n×n matrices over the field F of complex, or real, numbers. Given a self-adjoint involution J∈M_n(C), that is, J=J^*,J²=I, let us consider Cⁿ endowed with the indefinite inner product ,] induced by J and defined by x,y]?〈Jx,y〉,x,y∈Cⁿ. Assuming that (r,n-r), 0?r?n, is the inertia of J, without loss of generality we may assume J=diag(j₁,?,j_n)=I_r⊕-I_n-r. For T=(|t_ik|²)∈M_n(R), the matrices of the form T=(|t_ik|²j_ij_k), with all line sums equal to 1, are called J-doubly stochastic matrices. In the particular case r∈{0,n}, these matrices reduce to doubly stochastic matrices, that is, non-negative real matrices with all line sums equal to 1. A generalization of Birkhoff’s theorem on doubly stochastic matrices is obtained for J-doubly stochastic matrices and an application to determinants is presented.